Passenger Rail

Trad goes all in on CRR

Queensland infrastructure minister and deputy premier Jackie Trad has solidified the government’s support for Cross River Rail, penning a lengthy commentary on the on-again-off-again tunnel project in the Courier Mail.

Trad’s comments appeared in the paper’s July 13 edition.

In her piece, the minister said CRR was “Queensland’s number one infrastructure priority,” citing a “strong” benefit-cost ration of 1.21, along with transformational potential “not captured in the economic analysis alone”.

“Cross River Rail will mean shorter times right across the network, saving commuters up to 15 minutes from Beenleigh; 14 from Manly and nine from Petrie,” the minister wrote.

“For good reason, it is the Palaszczuk Government’s highest infrastructure priority and an important part of our plan to unlock economic opportunities and make Queensland more internationally competitive.”

Trad believes the city-crossing tunnel project is the best way to avoid “the looming capacity crunch on our rail network,” which she says “is reminiscent of the inner-city capacity problems Brisbane faced during the 1920s”.

The solution in the 1920s was the Story Bridge.

“The Story Bridge is a real example of how major infrastructure reshapes and remakes cities,” Trad continued. “Without the foresight and resolve to push forward with this visionary project, Brisbane would not be the city we know today.

“Cross River Rail is a similar project to the Story Bridge. With no major rail infrastructure investment in inner-city Brisbane since 1996 and no new inner-city river crossings since the Merivale Bridge in 1978, the reality is our already congested inner-city rail network will start to reach capacity from 2021 without Cross River Rail.”

Of course, like with any major infrastructure project, the current question facing Trad and the rest of the Palaszczuk Government is how to fund it.

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia boss Brendan Lyon recently voiced his support for not only inter-governmental funding, but the potential of value capture.

Value capture was discussed in the recent business case study done for the project. This was criticised by some, who said the government planned to tax motorists to build a rail tunnel.

“Cross River Rail is in its very embryonic stages and unfunded, so it would be a surprise if the business case didn’t look at options like user contributions, motorist levies or value capture models,” Lyon said in a recent statement.

“The Cross River Rail project needs money, so it’s not in anyone’s interest that any funding sources are prematurely ruled out, because of public fears.

“It should not be a shock that the Queensland Government’s business case looks at value capture and other options, given it is a prerequisite for any Federal funding that these are assessed.

“After a decade of talk, funding has already proven very elusive so it’s important that the political debate doesn’t see Cross River Rail put out of reach again, because every option has been dismissed.

“A public fear campaign to derail the project serves no one’s interest, including the Queensland public, who are crying out for more investment in infrastructure, not less.”